1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for enhancing a television broadcast of a live event.
2. Description of the Related Art
The television presentation of live events could be improved by enhancing the video in real time to make the presentation more interesting to the viewer. For example, television viewers cannot see the entire playing field during a sporting event; therefore, the viewer may lose perspective as to where one of the players or objects are on the field in relation to the rest of the field, players or objects. During the telecast of football games cameras tend to zoom in on the players which allows the viewer to only see a small portion of the field. Because the viewer can only see a small portion of the field a viewer may not know where a particular player is in relation to the pertinent locations on the field. One instance is when a player is carrying the football, the television viewer may not know how far that player has to run for a first down. One enhancement that would be helpful to television viewers of football games is to highlight the field at the point where a player must advance in order to obtain a first down.
An enhancement that would be helpful to viewers of golf tournaments is to highlight those portions of a golf course that have been notorious trouble spots to golfers. While the professional golfer is aware of these trouble spots and hits the ball to avoid those spots, the television viewer may not be aware of those trouble spots and may wonder why a particular golfer is hitting the ball in a certain direction. If the golf course was highlighted to show these trouble spots, a television viewer would understand the strategy that the golfer is using and get more enjoyment out of viewing the golf tournament. Another useful enhancement would include showing the contours of the green. Similar enhancements to the playing field would be useful in other sports as well.
Furthermore, live events do not take advantage of the scope of the television audience with respect to advertising. First, advertisements on display at a stadium can be televised; however, many of those advertisements are not applicable to the television audience. For example, a particular sporting event may be played in San Francisco and televised around the world. A local store may pay for a billboard at the stadium. However, viewers in other parts of the United States or in other countries receiving the broadcast may not have access to that store and, thus, the broadcast of the advertisement is not effective. Second, some of the space at a stadium is not used because such use would interfere with the view of the players or the spectators at the stadium. However, using that space for advertisement would be very effective for the television audience. For example, the glass around the perimeter of a hockey rink would provide an effective place for advertisements to the television audience. However, such advertisements would block the view of spectators at the stadium. Third, some advertisements would be more effective if their exposure is limited to particular times when customers are thinking of that type of product. For example, an advertisement for an umbrella would be more effective while it was raining.
Previous attempts to enhance the video presentation of live events have not been satisfactory. Some broadcasters superimpose advertisements on the screen; however, these advertisements tend to block the view of the event.
Another solution included digitizing a frame of video and using a computer with pattern recognition software to locate the target image to be replaced in the frame of video. When the target image is found, a replacement image is inserted in its place. The problem with this solution is that the software is too slow and cannot be effectively used in conjunction with a live event. Such systems are even slower when they account for occlusions. An occlusion is something that blocks the target. For example, if the target is a billboard on the boards around a hockey rink, one example of an occlusion is a player standing in front of the billboard. When that billboard is replaced, the new billboard image must be inserted into the video such that the player appears to be in front of the replacement billboard.